Wisconsin agency says it needs more money to comply with Contract Sunshine law

May 13, 2010

Written by

Ben Jones

Post-Crescent Madison bureau chief

What The P-C did

A week ago, The Post-Crescent began reporting about the state's failure to follow a four-year-old state law that requires government contracts to be posted on a single Web site for the public to see. The P-C found that the site is largely empty, the effort ranks among the worst in the country, and those responsible for populating and maintaining the site blame technical issues and a lack of enforcement authority. After the newspaper's initial reports, northeastern Wisconsin lawmakers began pressuring Gov. Jim Doyle to ensure compliance, and one lawmaker is seeking an audit of the program.

Accountability board

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board oversees state elections, campaign finance and lobbying laws, and is charged with maintaining a Web site of state contracts. The agency formed on Jan 10, 2008, when the former state Ethics and Elections boards merged. The board's office is located at 212 E. Washington Ave., Third Floor, in Madison. Phone: 608-266-8005. Web site: gab.wi.gov. Kevin Kennedy is director and general counsel. Board members: Judges William Eich (chairman), Gordon Myse (vice chair), Thomas Barland (secretary), Michael Brennan, Thomas Cane and Gerald Nichol.

Contract Sunshine online

As of March 10, only 14 of 84 state agencies listed on Wisconsin's Contract Sunshine Web site had at least some contract information attached. The information was dated between January 2006 and December 2009. Those agencies: Administration; Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Commerce; Justice; Director of State Courts; Financial Institutions; Government Accountability Board; Governor; Insurance Commissioner; Legislative Technology Services Bureau; Transportation; University of Wisconsin System; Veterans Affairs; and Workforce Development. On the Web: http//sunshine.sundialsc.com

National study

The Center for Responsive Law, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan government research group, released a report critical of Wisconsin's contract disclosure performance in May 2009.Top performers: Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas and Vermont.Worst performers: Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Wyoming.Read the full report online at www.csrl.org/reports/Contracts.pdf.The group, founded in 1968 by Ralph Nader, supports and conducts research and educational projects to encourage political, economic and social institutions to be more aware of the needs of citizens, according to its Web site.

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MADISON — The agency in charge of ensuring that state government contracts are posted online for the public likely will need more money to bring the effort into compliance with state law.

A spokesman for the state Government Accountability Board told The Post-Crescent the agency plans to ask for additional funds in the next state budget for improvements to the Contract Sunshine program. But, such an appropriation wouldn't come until summer 2011.

Meanwhile, citing "finger pointing" among state agencies, a lawmaker from northeastern Wisconsin is seeking an audit of the program.

"I'm not interested in the blame game, I just want to get it done," state Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay, told The Post-Crescent. "I'm interested in having the information (online) so people can make decisions on how their government is going to be affected."

Cowles said Friday he will request this week that the Legislative Audit Bureau try to determine what is preventing full contract disclosure called for in a law enacted in 2006. Cowles was one of three lawmakers who on Tuesday sent a letter to Gov. Jim Doyle urging him to ensure that state agencies follow the law, and they requested that he provide a detailed plan for improvement.

The letter was triggered by Post-Crescent stories revealing that the site is relatively empty despite a legal requirement that all contracts worth at least $10,000 be listed. The newspaper found that of 98 agencies, boards, commissions, councils, universities and colleges listed on the site (http://sunshine.sundialsc.com), only 14 posted any contract information and some of the information is outdated or incomplete.

State officials couldn't tell the newspaper exactly how much information is missing because no one audits the Web site. A national group last year gave Wisconsin a failing grade in a study of states' contract disclosure.

Government Accountability Board officials have cited a lack of resources and enforcement power in explaining the site's failings.

Reid Magney, a board spokesman, said the board has been working with state agencies to ensure that they submit information. He said a staff member hired last fall is tasked to do the work.

"One of the things that we have been working on … is there a way for the agencies to be able to upload the information in, for lack of a better term, a bulk format, as opposed to having to manually type in each contract?" Magney said.

That ability, however, is not covered by a nearly $20,000 contract the state has with a Madison software firm to develop the site, Magney said.

The Post-Crescent reviewed a copy of the state's contract with Sundial Software Corp.

The documents indicate the $19,662 contract, issued in May 2007, includes worked billed at $65 per hour. It calls for initial development on the site to be complete by June 15, 2007, and maintenance and new development to be complete by June 30, 2008.

Curtis Clark, the owner of Sundial, said his company's work is not finished and the site is still in a beta (test) version. He said Sundial is waiting on direction from the state on how to proceed, which it needs before it can complete the site.

"We haven't done anything for months on it," he said.

Magney said that because the state's contract with Sundial does not cover the bulk uploads of data that agencies are seeking, the board will probably request money for the work in its 2011-13 state budget request.

Magney said the agency doesn't know how much money it will need, but a site developer indicated the work will be "significantly more expensive" than the $19,662 allocated.

The improvements may take some time, because agency budget requests won't be made until this fall. And if the Legislature and governor approve the board's request, the dollars won't be available until the next budget takes effect, in the summer of 2011.

"In the meantime, our focus is on getting the agencies to comply with the law and enter the information that they are supposed to enter (manually)," Magney said.

On Friday, the head of the state Department of Administration sent a response letter to the lawmakers, defending its practices.

The letter, from Michael Morgan, said transparency is important to the administration and it had launched a number of Web sites to make public state spending information. He said state agencies have reported many technical problems with the Contract Sunshine site and the board directed his agency to "hold off on reporting."

He said his agency will pursue with the board the idea of linking the board site to existing agency sites that contain contracting information.

"The state of Wisconsin is ready and willing to comply with the Contract Sunshine law ... we have never refused to comply with the law," Morgan said.

Cowles said he is also going to urge agencies to talk to each other to work out issues on their own.

"The question is, how long is it going to take to get it done?" Cowles said.